Jon Niese has been reassigned to minor-league camp, further solidifying Livan Hernandez as the fifth starter. Omar Minaya acknowledged the fifth starter will come from camp, and he could only list Freddy Garcia and marginally Nelson Figueroa as other candidates.

For Niese, Minaya said he needs to get work and wouldn't have received the innings in big-league camp.

"I'm surprised, for sure," Niese said. "They just said I have to work on my command. They want me on a regular schedule."

No surprise here. Livan Hernandez will most likely join the Mets' rotation and A) blow us all away with one last great season, or B) just hang around long enough for Niese to be ready. Niese is the answer long term, but there's no reason to rush.

Rubin also indicates a few other campers that the Mets sent home early, including Robinson Cancel, Casey Fossum, Jon Switzer, Heriberto Ruelas, Connor Robertson, Kyle Snyder and Matt DeSalvo. Only player of note here is Cancel, as it means Manuel won't carry 3 catchers on the Opening Day roster. Thank goodness for that.
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